Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – Riceland Foods has announced the temporary closure of nine rice drying facilities across Arkansas and southeast Missouri as rice acreage falls to levels not seen in decades, but the move appears unlikely to significantly impact most rice farmers in the Craighead County area.
Among the facilities slated for temporary closure are Riceland locations in Tuckerman, Knobel and Parkin, along with dryers in Des Arc, Dumas, Fair Oaks, Griffithville, Lonoke and Dudley, Missouri. Riceland said the facilities will remain active as storage locations and will continue handling carryover rice inventories.
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The closures come amid a sharp decline in Arkansas rice acreage. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s prospective plantings report, long-grain rice acreage in Arkansas is expected to decline significantly this year, with some estimates placing total rice acreage near 800,000 acres — the lowest level seen in nearly 50 years.
In a statement reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Riceland said, “With rice acreage falling to levels not seen since the 1970s, we are forced to temporarily close a portion of our dryer network.” The company added that many of the affected locations will remain operational for grain storage.
Despite the closure of the Tuckerman dryer, local farmers contacted by Jonesboro Right Now said they do not expect the move to affect their operations.
James Best, whose family grows rice in the Cash area, said his operation utilizes Riceland’s Jonesboro and Weiner facilities rather than the Tuckerman location. “We use their Jonesboro and Weiner facilities,” Best said.
Another Cash-area rice farmer also told Jonesboro Right Now that the Tuckerman closure would not affect his farming operation.
Agricultural leaders have expressed concern that fewer available dryers could create bottlenecks for some producers during harvest. Arkansas Rice Growers Association President Kenneth Graves told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that farmers without on-farm storage often depend heavily on local dryers and that closures could force growers to haul grain farther distances and potentially wait longer to unload during harvest.
The decline in rice acreage has been attributed to historically low rice prices, rising production costs and challenges in global markets. Industry leaders warn that prolonged reductions in rice production could eventually threaten critical infrastructure, such as dryers, storage facilities, and mills, throughout Arkansas.
A federal acreage report expected later this month should provide a clearer picture of how many rice acres were ultimately planted across the state.
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